by STEVE CONNOR
A distinct group of prehistoric people who lived in what is now south-west China more than 11,500 years ago could be a new human species, according to scientists who have completed a detailed analysis of their fossilised skeletons and skulls.
Researchers said the unique anatomy of what they call the “red deer cave people” meant they were either a very ancient tribe of Homo sapiens that had become isolated for tens of thousands of years from the rest of humanity, or a completely new human species.
A new species would add a further complication to the already complex story of human origins. It would mean there was a time when our own species, H. sapiens, shared the same non-African landscapes with at least four other human species until each in turn became extinct, allowing just one type of human to dominate the globe.
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